Special Agent Parker
by AnabelleG
Summary: Brennan helps out Booth by watching over Parker one evening, and finds a new adventure...and new partner...along the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Special Agent Parker**

_The two of them sit in the center of the carpet, legs crossed and facing each other. Neither says a word. The room is quiet enough that she imagines that she can hear the faint ticking of a clock. Counting down each second of the silence. __Finally, she decides to try again_.

"So, no more flashcards?"

The little boy across from her shakes his head slowly from side to side, blond curls falling into his eyes.

She's quiet for a moment. Then, she leans forward, excitement in her voice.

"I know! We can practice the names of all the bones." She holds out her hands, wiggling her fingers. "See, these are the phalanges…"

Her words die out as he tilts his head slightly, brown eyes staring back at her warily.

"Not fun? Okay, so no bones…." She bites her lip, stumped.

"Let's see, what else? No TV means no Power Rangers—sorry, Ranger Powers, right?"

The boy puts his hands over his face, shaking his head in what she thinks is dismay. She can't see the smile that he is trying to hide, doesn't know that his daddy told him not to laugh if she did that, because she tried really, really hard to get the names right.

All she can't think is how much he looks like his father when he gets frustrated with her. That she was messing this up. How could babysitting be this hard?

She lets out a deep breath, looking around the room for inspiration. At this point, she would take anything at all.

Come on, think, Brennan. You were a kid once.

As she takes in her surroundings, the seeds of an idea begin to form. It feels a little desperate, but what did she have to lose?

"Hey, Parker. Did your dad ever tell you about the time that he found the pirate treasure?"

"Real pirates?" There is a little flicker of interest in his eyes, so she continues on.

"Yes, real pirates. Real gold, too. Your dad was very brave. He saved my friend Jack from the big pirate captain…."

"My daddy is the braverest man in the world, right Dr. Bones?" He scoots closer, ready to hear the rest of the story. Now that she has his attention, she sets the rest of her plan into motion. Reaching into her pocket, she pulls out her cell phone, pretending to look at the caller ID window.

"Sorry, Parker. This looks important. I'd better take it."

She stands and pretends to answer the phone, watching as he tries to be polite, to hide his impatience.

Brennan waits a moment before speaking in a very business-like tone. "What can I do for you, Mr. Cullen?" She tries to hide a smile as she notices that Parker's interest has returned once he recognized the name of his father's boss.

His eyes grow wide as she continues, "What's that….more pirates? Oh, no…they're after our treasure again?"

As she hears Parker moving closer, she starts to think that maybe, just maybe, she can pull this off.

"No, sir. I'm afraid I can't help today. See, Parker and I are having a very important conversation. What…I can take Parker with me? I don't know, this is a very good discussion we're having. Let me ask him…"

She feels a tug on her sleeve, and looks down into a face brimming with excitement. "I can catch pirates good, Dr. Bones."

"Are you sure, Parker? We can always get out those flashcards…."

"No. Pirates. Pirates. Pleeeeease….."

"Okay, Mr. Cullen, sir. We'll be ready." She smiles as she kneels down, brushing a wayward curl from his forehead. Staring into shining brown eyes, she speaks into the silent phone. "It looks like I've found myself a partner."

As she fastens the safety-pin closed, Parker pats the lopsided circle that she has pinned to his t-shirt.

"That is a fine badge you have there, partner."

He squares his little shoulders and puffs out his chest. "And it's just like my daddy's. See, F. B. I."

Brennan smiles to herself as she watches little fingers trace the blue crayon letters. "Yes, exactly like your dad. Now, Special Agent Parker, where did we put the special pirate-catcher?"

"Here it is!" He waves the feather duster they had carefully selected earlier. As a single grey feather falls to the floor, a concerned look crosses his face. "Uh-oh. Dr. Bones, I don't think this is gonna work on pirates."

She retrieves the feather from the floor. "Remember, what I told you? I found that in the pirate room at the museum. These are the very same feathers left behind the parrot that belonged to the great Captain Barnabus the Smelly himself."

He laughs as she tickles his nose with the tip of the feather. "Now, partner, ready to go catch some smelly pirates?"

* * *

Parker pushes open the door to the pirate hang-out, waving his pirate-catcher in front of him. A serious expression on his face, he turns and pats her arm. "Wait here, Dr. Bones. Gotta make sure it's safe, 'kay?." 

"Okay, Parker. Just be careful….Barnabus may still be here." She waits outside until he returns, a dejected look on his face.

"Aww, all of 'em are gone."

"It's not over yet, partner. Let's see if they left behind some clues. Maybe the treasure's still in there."

* * *

Brennan motions Parker over to her, pointing down at the sand. "Look, Parker. Pirate tracks!" 

Parker bends down, looking intently at the ground. "Oh, man. Lots of 'em."

She looks around for more signs. "Right again. A whole gang of them—we must be getting close!"

Pointing ahead of her, down the beach. "There he is, Parker. Old Captain Smelly—and it looks like he has the treasure too!"

"Let's get 'em!"

"Ready when you are, Agent Parker."

* * *

"Good job, Parker! Way to use that pirate-catcher. He never had a chance with you on his trail." 

Parker leans into the pirate's face, "Yeah, and now you're gonna go to jail!"

"Right, partner. Let's go lock him up where he belongs. Now, where did that bag of gold coins get to?"

"Here it is! We saved it, Dr. Bones!" He reaches down to pick up a brown canvas bag bulging with coins.

* * *

Booth feels a little guilty as he knocks against the door. He hadn't meant to be gone as long as he had. The meeting with the deputy director had dragged on forever. He could only hope that things had gone better here. 

Brennan opens the door quickly, finger to her lips. "Quiet, Booth! He just fell asleep a few minutes ago."

He starts to apologize for being so late, but stops mid-sentence as he looks over her shoulder.

"Bones, what exactly happened here…." He moves past her into the apartment, turning to take in the scene around him with a stunned look in his eyes.

A white sheet hangs across a group of chairs, creating a makeshift tent in the center of the room. Grey feathers litter the carpet. A teddy-bear with a folded paper hat, rests on its side under an up-turned laundry basket on top of the coffee table. Parker sleeping on the couch, his arm wrapped around a bag of chocolate chip cookies.

Brennan smiles at the expression on his face, his questions about the mess. What mess? All she saw was a pirate hang-out, along with the results of a brave battle and Captain Barnabus sitting in his jail cell.

Her musings are interrupted as she notices Booth moving towards the couch. "Cookies? You didn't let him eat those…"

"Those aren't cookies, Booth. It's pirate treasure."

Leaning over Parker, he tries to remove the bag of cookies without waking him. "What are you talking…." His words trail off as he notices the paper circle pinned to Parker's shirt. Reaching out, he lightly traces each letter.

"Treasure… I see what you mean." He looks back at her over his shoulder. "Thank you, Temperance."


	2. Chapter 2

_The next morning. He shakes the can with an exaggerated flourish and makes a production of squirting the shaving cream into one hand. A little on each cheek, a swipe along the chin. Sure, all of this slows him down a little and makes the bathroom a little crowded. Yet, as he adds a final touch of shaving cream to his son's nose and hears the little boy's giggle, he knows that he wouldn't have it any other way._

Almost finished shaving, he stands at the sink looking into the mirror. Parker is sitting on the counter beside him, holding his 'razor'— a popsicle stick, now covered with shaving cream. His makeshift FBI badge, a little more wrinkled but holding up well, is pinned to the shirt of Superman pj's--he'd refused to go back to sleep last night without it.

"Daddy?"

"Yes, son."

"Can I ask you somethin'?"

"Sure, Parker." As he waits for the boy's question, Booth passes the razor across his jaw to remove the last bit of shaving cream. Reaching down to rinse the razor, he is surprised when he feels Parker's hand on his arm.

"It's real 'portant. You always say pay attention when it's 'mportant."

Both chastened and amused, Booth moves down so that he is at eye-level with Parker.

"I'm sorry, buddy. You're right. Now, what is that you want to ask?"

"When do people get married?"

Booth swallows hard, panicking just a little. He is not prepared for this particular question. "Well, son, people get married…um, well, see when two people love each very much and…oh, man, okay…"

"Nooo, daddy. How oooold do you have to be when you get married?"

Torn now between feeling relief at the much easier question and wondering where this is leading, Booth thinks a minute before answering.

"I think you have to be pretty grown-up before you can do that, probably at least…."

He pauses as Parker lets out a disappointed sigh. "Grown-up. That's a long time……."

Using a thumb to wipe a stray bit a shaving cream from his son's chin, Booth feels a little tug in his chest. It doesn't seem like it is going to be nearly long enough.

"You have plenty of time before you have to think about this, little man. One of these days, you are going to meet a special girl and decide…."

"I already 'cided, Daddy."

"Well then, Parker, this sounds pretty serious. Who is the lucky girl? Hmmm, let me guess….Sarabeth from daycare?"

"Un-uh. All she ever wants to do is play with stupid dolls."

"Then it has to be Emily…or is it…Kirsten?"

Parker shakes his head, rolling his eyes in exasperation. "No, Daddy. Not them. When I grow up, I'm gonna get married to Dr. Bones."

Booth quickly hides a smile, "Oh, so, it's Dr. Bones, is it?"

"Yeah, Daddy. She..."

As Parker chatters on about pirate hang-outs, parrot feathers and how Dr. Bones wasn't afraid of anything, not even spiders, Booth shakes his head in amazement.

_Another one of the Booth men down for the count. How does she do it…._


	3. Chapter 3

_A small group has taken over a corner of the park. A man presides over a grill, but his attention is focused on the scene in front of him. There is a bright red blanket spread over the grass, a wicker picnic basket holding down one corner. A woman sits at another corner, trying to concentrate as the wind ruffles the stack of typed pages she is reviewing. She looks up and smiles as a little boy bounds up, dropping his soccer ball in the center of the blanket. He asks her a question, then takes her hand, urging her up from the ground. The woman looks over her shoulder at the man, as if asking for reassurance. When he smiles and waves them on, she quickly pushes her work into the bag beside her before standing to the follow the boy, his blond curls flying as he jumps up and down in excitement._

_Anyone seeing the two of them walking along the sidewalk would assume that they were mother and son on an outing in the park. The woman keeps careful watch as the boy explores the area around the path. With each treasure that he finds—a cluster of acorns, a rock glinting with quartz—he runs back to the woman, beaming with pride. She responds with enthusiasm over each find, earning a wide smile from the boy._

Brennan feels an unexpected sense of contentment as she watches Parker run a few feet ahead of her, already focused on his newest discovery. There was something about seeing his uninhibited wonder at each new find.

Parker has stopped, and is leaning over, looking intently at the ground. "Look, Dr. Bones! A frog. It's a big one, too!"

"Yes, I believe what you have there is an excellent specimen of _Rana catesbiana_."

He looks up at her, "No…. I'm pretty sure it's a frog."

"Actually, _Rana cates_…you know, Parker, I think you are absolutely right. Frog it is."

"Un-huh. Hey, Dr. Bones….do frogs give you warts? Sarabeth says that frogs can give you warts."

"No, I don't think we have to worry. That is a myth perpetu…."

* * *

She is starting to worry. Since they had left the frog behind, he'd been very quiet. Had she said the wrong thing?

_Should have stopped with 'No, they don't cause warts', Brennan._

They reach their original destination—a lone set of swings on the edge of the park. Parker scoots onto one of the black rubber seats, hands wrapped tightly around the chains. Brennan sits on the swing next to him, ready to ask him if everything is okay, when she hears him sigh heavily.

"I can't marry you now, Dr. Bones."

Booth had told her of Parker's 'intentions' and seeing the serious expression on his face, she knows that she can't dismiss this as a part of a little boy's crush. Yet, she has no idea of how to respond.

_Words. Words. What are the right words?_

Just as she opens her mouth to speak, Parker looks up at her.

"Sarabeth at school, she says she's my girlfriend now."

"Well, Parker, Sarabeth sounds like a…nice little girl."

"Yeah, she's alright. We built a fort. But I told her no dolls in the fort. Can't have dolls in a fort.". He moves his arm across the air in front of him to emphasize his point.

She puts her hand over her mouth to hide her smile. He sounds so much like his father when he decided to 'explain the rules'.

Misinterpreting her expression, Parker slides out of the swing, and walks over to place a little hand on her arm.

"Don't be sad though, Dr. Bones. We're still partners, okay?"

This time she smiles openly, touched at the concern on his face. "Of course, Agent Parker. I wouldn't have it any other way."

"Yep. We can be buddies. Like me and Hector and Caleb."

"That sounds like a very good plan to me." She reaches out and ruffles his hair, relieved to see a smile back on his face.

"Whew! That's good. Now can we swing, Dr. Bones?"

Brennan helps him back into his swing, then stands behind him to give him a starting push. She is about to breathe a sigh of relief when she hears a little voice pipe up.

"Dr. Bones, I just thought of somethin'"

"What's that, Parker?"

"My daddy's already a grown-up."

"That's true." She feels brave enough to allow herself to feel a bit of amusement. This was much safer ground. If there was one thing she knew for sure about this little boy, it was that he loved talking about his hero.

"You wouldn't have to wait for him to be a grown-up."

Her eyes widen as Brennan quickly puts the pieces together. She knows where this is headed. Definitely not safer ground.

"So…instead, I think my daddy should marry you, Dr. Bones."

_Words. Words. I need the words again_


	4. Chapter 4

_He's already rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand as his father helps him into his seat in the back of the car. The little boy has had a big day full of exploring, hot dogs and important conversations. As soon as the car begins moving forward, his eyelids start to drift downward. He struggles to stay awake, but within minutes, his head rests against the side of his seat, his mouth open slightly, as if he was in the middle of saying something very important when sleep finally took over._

Booth looks at the image reflected in the rearview mirror, chuckling quietly as he shakes his head.

"Looks like Agent Matchmaker back there has finally called it quits for the day."

Brennan turns to look back at Parker. She finds it almost surreal as she watches him sleep—to think that the little guy that was so active and talkative earlier in the day could actually be that still. Even now, he was still holding on tightly to the piece of quartz-riddled stone that he'd found on their walk.

She faces forward, looking at Booth from the corner of her eye. "I hope that he wasn't too disappointed. He's just a little boy with a very active imagination…"

He smiles over at her, "Don't worry, Bones. He's going to be fine. Lots of kids his age go through something like this. For me, it was Miss Jessup. Yep, that Miss Jessup, she was something else…"

Catching sight of the grin on his face, she's a little disturbed by the fact that she is already prepared to dislike this Jessup person, whoever she was.

_Why is he smiling like that?_

"Why are you smiling like that? Who exactly is Miss…"

"Miss Jessup? Just the prettiest pre-school teacher in Philadelphia. Told myself that once I was old enough, I was going to come back and sweep her off her feet. Had it all planned out. As soon as I hit first grade, Miss Jessup would…"

Glancing over, he notices the questioning look on her face. "What, Bones? Wasn't there some teacher that you had the tiniest…tiniest little bit of a crush on?"

Not caring for the teasing tone in his voice, she turns away and looks out of her window. "No, Booth. I can't say that I did. I never found myself in awe of my teachers."

"Now why exactly am I not…"

"There was something, though. Not the same, but similar." She is still facing the window as she starts talking. He turns quickly to look at her, surprised by the quiet nostalgia that he hears in her voice.

"I must have been…about four. We were all eating dinner when I told everyone that I had a very important announcement. I had decided that when I got married, it had to be in a blue dress…" She pauses to give a small laugh, "…and it had to be on December 33rd. I wanted my own day that no one else could have."

As she talks, Booth smiles, picturing a tiny Temperance Brennan holding court at the family dinner table, blue eyes intent as she made her wishes known. He has a feeling that no one had dared to challenge her either.

"To give them credit, they didn't try to disillusion me. My father…my father said that made him the happiest man alive. Any boy that wanted to get near his Tempe would have to pass the 12-33 rule."

Hearing the catch in her voice, Booth is jerked back to the present. "Temperance…I didn't mean to…"

"It's okay, Booth." She turns away from the window to look, the tears in her eyes an odd juxtaposition to the tentative smile on her face. "It's a happy memory. Sometimes I forget that they can be happy, too."

He's careful in choosing his response, knowing that she would take any concern as coddling or patronizing. Putting a wry smile on his face, he looks over at her, "December 33rd, hmm? Leave it to you, Bones, to try to rearrange a calendar that has been perfectly good for hundreds of years…"

Quickly wiping at her eyes, she laughs, knowing perfectly well what he is trying to do, "Nothing wrong with a little tinkering, Booth. Every little girl wants to have her own day."

As they continue to banter back and forth, the emotion brought on by nostalgia begins to dissipate. Soon they fall into comfortable silence, both continuing to glance in the mirror to make sure that Parker is still sleeping peacefully.

Miles later, Booth finds his thoughts returning to one thing that she had said, wondering if it meant that there was a chance that things could turn out the way he had been hoping.

_Every little girl wants to have her own…_

He's distracted from his thoughts as she reaches over and taps him on the shoulder.

"Booth, do you hear that?"

"Hear what, B…."

He doesn't get to finish as an unmistakable sound comes from the floorboards behind them.

"Is that a…."

Brennan smiles broadly, "Yeah, Booth. Looks as Parker wanted to bring home a specimen of _Rana catesbia_…"

"You mean a frog…loose…in my car?"


	5. Chapter 5

_The man turns to say a final goodnight before turning off the lights. As he leaves, he is careful to not shut the door completely. The boy fidgets with the edge of the quilt covering his bed as he stares at the line of light the open door creates on his floor. He is comforted knowing that they are nearby in the next room, but he would much rather be in that room with them. Sitting up in his bed, he looks around the darkened room and lets out a heavy sigh. After another minute of debate, the boy leaves his bed and moves toward the door with exaggerated care, not wanting to alert anyone that he is not sleeping quietly_.

Parker eases up to the small opening and peeks around the edge of the door. Frustrated that he can't see anything but the arm of the sofa, he leans forward a little, freezing when he realizes he caused the door to move. When there's no reaction from the next room, he gets a little braver and slowly edges the door open a few more inches.

He can see them sitting on the floor, surrounded by files and papers. As he watches, Parker quickly forgets that he was working up the nerve to interrupt and ask for one more glass of water.

_They're still doing their homework. They are alwaaaays doing homework._

He forgets his exasperation with the grown-ups when he sees Dr. Bones lean over to tell his dad something. He can't hear, but is sure it was funny because both of them laughed.

His brown eyes narrow as his mind starts leap-frogging from one idea to another.

_She really makes Daddy smile a lot. He was real happy when he said she was coming to see us. Even it was to work on the papers. He used to say they were bor-ring. I wish Dr. Bones could stay here all the time. Then Daddy would be happy every day._

When his father stands up, Parker moves away from the door, but stops when he sees that he is only going to the kitchen. He waits until he sees his dad return with two cups of coffee, then presses his face against doorjamb again.

_Yuck. I don't like coffee. It smells funny. But if she stayed with us, I wouldn't care if she drinks all the coffee. And we could have dinner and breakfast together. And watch wrestling on TV. I bet Dr. Bones would like wrestling cause they break their arms and get all bloody sometimes. She's not scared of that stuff. We'd have lotsa of fun._

He forgets that he is supposed to be super quiet and breathes a loud sigh of frustration.

_I tried to tell Daddy. We could play pirates all the time. All he's got to do is tell her that they are gonna get married. But he started acting all funny. Maybe he's nervous. Sometimes girls make you nervous. Sarabeth can be real scary, 'specially when she says we gotta hold hands at the lunch…._

His thoughts stop midstream when he hears his father say that it is time to make sure the bed bugs aren't biting. He hurries to get back into bed, pulling the covers right up to his chin, squeezing his eyes tightly shut.

After sensing the door opening and closing again, Parker hesitantly opens one eye to make sure that his daddy isn't tricking him. Finding the room empty, he sits up in bed straining to hear what is happening in the next room. When he hears the faint sound of laughter, he knows that they didn't see him.

Falling back against his pillow, he stares up at pale yellow stars glowing across his ceiling. He remembers how his father had spent almost forever trying to get them to stick up there.

_When he was all done, Daddy said it was okay to be scared of the dark. Just hafta get a plan for when you get scared, Parker. That's what he said._

_Maybe Daddy doesn't have a plan._

Parker turns on his side, tucking his hands under his cheek. As he stares at the light stretching across the floor, one last thought runs through his mind before his eyes finally close.

_I can make good plans.

* * *

_

He walks up behind her as she leans against the doorjamb looking into the bedroom. They are quiet, Booth watching Brennan as she watches the little boy sleeping. As she shifts her bag and the coat she's holding to her other hand, she catches him staring.

"What, Booth? I just wanted to make sure that our…your little secret agent was sleeping well after his stakeout…"

His eyes search her face, noticing the faint blush along her cheeks, and the corner of his mouth quirks upward.

_Maybe the Booth boys are not the only ones…..._


	6. Chapter 6

_The boy pulls the heavy book from the shelf, then sits on the floor to flip through the brightly illustrated pages. He remembers this book, it was the fairy tale book his father used to read to him when he was a real little boy. He stops at one picture, biting his lip and furrowing his brow._

_Hands on his hips, he stares around the room, looking at the scattered toys as if asking for inspiration. His eyes light on the small wooden box peeking from beneath his bed. Kneeling on the floor he reaches for the box and opens it, examining all of the secret treasures he has collected._

_He absently brushes the hair from his forehead with the back of his hand, and reaches for another crayon. Staring at the purple wax stick, he gives a quick shake of his head and replaces it with a blue one. He bends his head over his play table, concentrating on making this project a masterpiece._

Booth and Brennan sit on the sofa, both unsuccessfully trying to hide amused smiles as they wait for Parker to return. The little boy had been so excited about this new game of pretend that neither had been able to refuse to participate.

He comes out of his bedroom, carrying the little backpack that he uses for preschool. Placing it on the floor, he begins rummaging through the contents—getting it ready, he tells them.

First, he shakes a snow globe and places it in the center of the table in front of them. Seeing the small castle inside amid the tiny plastic snowflakes, the grown-ups begin trying to guess the game that they will be playing.

First, his father. "Are we going to play Knights of the Round Table again, Parker?" The boy shakes his head, eyes brimming with the excitement of his secret. "Un-uh, Daddy. Not yet, it's almost ready."

After Parker reaches into his bag and pulls out a construction paper crown covered with blue and red crayon jewels, Brennan tries next. "Maybe princess and princes?"

With one hand, he motions her to lean her head forward. Placing the crown on her head, Parker thinks for a moment. "Sorta, Dr. Bones". He quickly returns to the contents of his bag, removing two sheets of construction paper covered with a seemingly random pattern of blue, red, green and orange circles, that he carefully props against two of the candles on the coffee table.

Brennan looks at the two squares of paper, discerning that he's drawn bouquets of flowers in two vases. "This is very nicely done, Parker. I can't wait to see what we are going to be imagining…"

Parker moves to stand in front of them, "Weelll, it's not 'xactly 'magining, Dr. Bones."

Confusion crosses the faces of the two adults as they try to figure out where this is headed. Booth starts to open his mouth to ask Parker for an explanation, when his son asks him to hold out his hand.

"Okay, Daddy. Here you go, now you can tell her you're gonna get married." As he talks, Parker reaches into his front pocket and then places a plastic skull ring, last year's Halloween party favor, in the center of his father's palm. He leans forward, speaking in a loud whisper, "You don't hafta be scared. You make her smile too, Daddy."

"Um, Parker…" Booth is turning the ring in his hand, looking from the wide-eyed Brennan to the sincere expression on his son's face. He feels caught between the cross-hairs, not wanting to disappoint or confuse the little boy and not wanting to scare her away. He's still trying to find the right words when Parker begins speaking again, this time to Brennan.

"It's not a really a girl ring, but I bet Daddy can get you a more prettier one. Then we can get to be a fam'ly."

Brennan opens and closes her mouth, unsure of what to say. This was certainly not what she had expected—pirates, cops and robbers, sure. But not this. She looks to Booth for help, but is nonplussed to find that the stunned look in his eyes has been replaced by a spark of curiosity as he waits for her to respond. She takes a deep breath and faces an expectant Parker—and immediately forgets that she is addressing a little boy as she begins talking about pieces of paper and non-conformist family structures.

Seeing the crease form between his son's eyebrows, Booth is about to intervene when Parker once again beats him to the draw, placing a hand on Brennan's, stopping her words in mid-stream.

"I don't know what that means, Dr. Bones. I just…" He stops, rocking back and forth on his heels, not sure how to express what he's thinking.

Booth stands from the couch and kneels on the floor next to Parker, gently putting a hand on each small arm, turning the boy to face him. "Parker, I know you are only trying to help, but this is a very grown-up conversatio…"

The boy's lower lip starts to tremble, as he worries that not only has his big plan fallen apart but that he's upset his father. "I just wanted to help, Daddy. Cause she makes us happy…"

Knowing that his son's heart was in the right place, Booth tries to reassure the boy. "Yeah, son, she does. But this is something that Dr. Bones and I need to figure out, okay, little man?"

"But fam'lies love each other. We love each other, so we should be a fam'ly, Daddy."

Out of the corner of his eye, Booth sees Brennan leaning over to put her face in her hands, her makeshift crown sliding to the floor.

"Um, Parker, let's say we give Dr. Bones a minute, okay…to fix her crown. We can go talk some more in your room…"

Reluctantly, Parker nods at his father and then walks over to Brennan, solemnly placing a kiss on top of her bent head and whispering something in her ear before following Booth to his room.

* * *

_Father and son sit on the edge of the bed, talking quietly as the little boy kicks one foot against the bed frame. At first, the tone of the conversation is serious, marked by a nod of the head from the little boy, or a reassuring pat on the shoulder from the man. Eventually though, there is an occasional smile, and finally full-fledged laughter as the man tickles the boy's stomach._

_After setting up the play table with plenty of crayons and paper, the father extends his hand to his son. They shake hands in a 'gentleman's agreement', both smiling broadly. The man moves to the door, turning back with a final word to the boy. He then exits the room, leaving the door slightly open._

Brennan hasn't moved from her spot on the sofa. She is turning the paper crown in her hands, stopping only to wipe away a tear. The little boy's words keep running through her mind.

_Please be in our fam'ly. We need you, Dr. Bones._

She tenses as she hears Booth exit Parker's room, saying something about no peeking this time. She's surprised when he turns to his own room, but can understand that he needs a minute to collect his thoughts. She herself feels as if she has been granted another moment's reprieve from the conversation that she knows is coming. The very grown-up conversation.

Booth returns to the room, and sits next to her with a nervous sigh, rubbing both palms against the tops of his thighs. Both continue to face forward, not looking at the other. The tension in the room drives them both to speak at the same time.

"Temperance…"  
"Booth…"

Their nervous laughter dissolves quickly back to silence. He takes a deep breath and begins again.

"Temperance, about what just happened…"

"I know, Booth. He's a little boy with a vivid imagination…"

"No. Well, yeah, but….the thing is…I think he got this right, Bones."

Unnerved by his direct approach, she stands and begins pacing, her instincts warring between wanting to flee the room and needing to hear what he says next. She stops when he moves to stand in front of her, but is unable to look up at him as he begins speaking.

"Temperance, look at me…please."

She raises her eyes to meet his, and finds herself calmed despite the intensity she finds there.

"I know you have…strong feelings about marriage, but please…please hear me out on this before you say anything."

He pauses, then takes her silence as permission to continue.

"Parker was right. You do make me smile…and make me happy. Even when you absolutely are driving me up the wall, you still…you make me happy."

She starts to interrupt, but he stops her with a shake of his head.

"I'd like to think that I make you happy too, Temperance. Would like to keep making you happy for the rest of our lives. I love you, and think...know we can be a family…your family, if you will have me…"

He stops, reaching into his pocket. Her breath catches when he pulls out his hand and opens his palm. Instead of a child's party ring, he's holding a delicate circle of pale gold filigree threaded around a single blue sapphire.

She reaches to run a single finger along it's edge, but doesn't take it from his hand.

"You've had this…"

"Waiting for the right time," he laughs wryly, "Just never expected my kid would be the one to point out the right moment….." He takes a breath, working up his courage "So, is it?... The right moment?"

He smiles nervously, watching the emotions play out across her face as she prepares her response. When she finally starts speaking, the words come in a torrent.

"Are you sure, Booth? You know me, know about my history…my family. I've never been good at families. And I'm always having to think of the right things to say…to do. What if I hurt you…" Seeing that he's about to interject, she holds up a hand. "Please, let me say this. What if I hurt you…or that little boy in there…"

He takes a step closer, so that they are almost touching, and she forgets what she was going to say next.

"Listen, Bones. Neither of us has all of the answers, and I don't deny that there may be times that will test either or both of us. Things happen in life, but wouldn't it be better to go face them together? As for hurting me...the only thing that you could do to hurt me would be to walk out of my life. And Parker…you have to know the little man worships the ground you walk on. The fact that you care enough to make sure that you don't hurt him? That's the key…."

Worried that his feelings are lost in the words, he stops abruptly and closes his eyes.

"I…we…we both need you, Temperance." He's afraid to open his eyes, afraid that he will look at her face and see that he said too much or that he hasn't said enough. As the seconds tick by, he begins to think he's lost her. Then he feels her arms around him, holding him tightly.

"I…" She begins to whisper to him, but feeling his arms move around her, she pauses, knowing that she is going to cross a line that will change everything.

"I need you too."

* * *

_The little boy wanders around his room, in circles increasingly closer to the gap in the doorway. He's tried to be good and not peek—he already drew about a billion pictures already—but they are still out there talking. At the moment when he decides to give into temptation, he hears footsteps approaching the door and runs quickly back to the play table._

They open the door to find Parker studiously applying green crayon to the yellow page on the table. When Booth knocks against the doorjamb, the little boy looks up and studies them carefully.

When he sees that they both have happy eyes, he is out of his chair like a shot, running over to them. He is hugging them both around the legs when he takes Brennan's left hand in his own.

Eyes wide in amazement, he examines the ring on her finger. "Oh, wow." He looks up at her with a knowing look, "Toldja Daddy would get a more prettier one."

Booth kneels down in front of his son, "Thanks, little man." He reaches over to ruffle the boy's hair, "But tell me…you don't have any more secret plans up your sleeve, right?"

Parker hesitates, then shakes his head, smiling back at his father.

_Silly, Daddy. I don't keep 'em in my sleeve!_


End file.
